OK this is a shock to me: BREAKING NEWS Caroline Kennedy Plans to Withdraw From New York Senate Co

[Uzybone]

BREAKING NEWS 6:59 PM ET: Caroline Kennedy Plans to Withdraw From New York Senate Consideration

On NYTimes. com frontpage. No details.

Edited to add link and new details:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/nyregion/22caroline.html?_r=1&hp

"On Wednesday she called the governor, David Paterson, who is making the selection of who should succeed Senator Hillary Clinton. Her concerns about Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s deteriorating health (he was hospitalized after a seizure during the inaugural lunch on Tuesday ) prompted her decision to withdraw, this person said. Coping with the health issues of her uncle, with whom she enjoys an extraordinarily close bond, was her most important priority; a situation not conducive to starting a high profile public job."

[polichick]

1. Wow

[tekisui]

2. Well, that is a surprise.

Skeletons wanting to dance? Or did Paterson choose someone else, and she is pre-empting him?

[Cha]

5. Or, really...there could be other

reasons that aren't so negative.

[tekisui]

7. True, she cited personal reasons

according to (gulp) NY Post.

[Cha]

10. Sorry, I just feel

really protective of her. I wanted her for the job but only because I thought she wanted it. Things do change, though, and I hope Paterson choses the best.

[Cha]

3. Well, she must have her good

reasons. I wanted her but bless her heart she's thought better of it.

[MaineDem]

4. I heard last night on the radio that the Gov said he was leaning toward Cuomo

That might have been the final straw for Kennedy.

[smalll]

6. As a New Yorker, I'm surprised and a little pleased by this. I guess things LOOKED like Paterson...

was under such overwhelming pressure to pick Caroline, that if he actually had decided NOT to pick her, he HAD to give her the courtesy of telling her ahead of time.

If this holds up, it must be that under the circs, Paterson had to let Caroline pull out herself rather than leave her looking "dissed" when the actual pick is made.

On edit for the OP: This really is such surprising and fresh news, why didn't you start this with, "Breaking - BREAKING HARD: " That "breaking hard" thing always cracks me up. ;)

[jillan]

8. She must know something - like she's not going to get the position.

And maybe is doing this as to not be embarrassed.

[RayOfHope]

9. Wow, that's unexpected. N/t

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

11. face-saving

[Metric System]

33. That was my initial reaction before even reading beyond the heading. I think she knows she won't be

picked and this is her way to bow out. Ted has been ill since before she announced her interest in the seat so that doesn't add up to me.

[Lord Helmet]

42. oh look the meanspirited here just gotta dump on Caroline with their assumptions

[onefreespiritedchick]

48. Agreed, as well. n/t

[SuperTrouper]

50. It is sad to see many at DU writing the same thing that Freeprs are writing about CKS

:(

[Lord Helmet]

55. they are a disgusting faction of the democratic party

[SoCalDem]

53. That comment you replied to did not sound meanspirited..in any way

Caroline had every right to ask to be considered, but she also did NOT have a right to the seat..Unfortunately, the way they wrote the law, leaves it all up to Patterson..

He's the one who should have said, on DAY ONE:

"I will make the decision, and there will be no overt campaigning...anyone interested, can come and see me personally, and when I am ready to make a decision , I will"..

He played it far too coyly, and turned it all into a circus.

[Lord Helmet]

54. BS, saying she is saving face is just mean becuase that's not what the reporting says

leave it to meanspirited people to say meanspirited things, they are just following in the general theme of nasty toward Caroline they've been saying all along

[Metric System]

56. How am I being mean-spirited? I wish neither her or her family ill will. More than one analyst said

the same thing I did tonight on CNN after I posted my comment. This is the way politics works (re: face-saving excuses) and it's not a knock against Caroline.

[Lord Helmet]

57. the denial up in this place is thick

you forget the hundreds of meanspirted posts you haters have made about her

[Metric System]

58. Please point to the negative posts I've made about Caroline. I'm waiting...

[emilyg]

61. What's meanspirited about it?

[BootinUp]

41. agreed nt

[rvablue]

12. HELLO??? Other than something negative/nefarious did anyone stop to think

about what happened yesterday?

Her beloved uncle with brain cancer went into convulsions.

She probably wants to be totally available to HIM and if she was Senator then she wouldn't be able to do that.

[WinkyDink]

14. I think, too, it is totally related to this incident.

[SuperTrouper]

15. True. It is NY's loss and a blessing in disguise for her, believe me.

[Cha]

16. Thank you, rvablue..that's what

I've been saying..about something other than the negative part anyway and I did think of Teddy.

[Uzybone]

23. You totally nailed it. The link has details now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/nyregion/22caroline.html?_r=1&hp


"Caroline Kennedy has withdrawn from consideration for the vacant Senate seat in New York, according to a person told of her decision.

On Wednesday she called the governor, David Paterson, who is making the selection of who should succeed Senator Hillary Clinton. Her concerns about Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s deteriorating health (he was hospitalized after a seizure during the inaugural lunch on Tuesday ) prompted her decision to withdraw, this person said. Coping with the health issues of her uncle, with whom she enjoys an extraordinarily close bond, was her most important priority; a situation not conducive to starting a high profile public job.

She was planning to issue a statement on Wednesday evening."

[cali]

25. she's known for months that Teddy has incurable brain cancer

and is dying. I don't see that his setback yesterday would influence her to drop out.

[Uzybone]

30. Its one thing to know he is dying

its another thing to see (or hear of) him having a huge seizure like that. Its quite different IMO.

[SuperTrouper]

35. It is a reality check to see someone seize like that with your own two eyes...

[Cha]

36. Thank you. No one can know what

or what not will influence someone to make an important decision.

[SuperTrouper]

38. Especially when it is about a loved one. When my late mother ended up in dialysis

I moved my practice from Philadelphia to NYC to be closer to her in her last days. I understand CKS's reasons. I do not think she is a calculating woman.

[Cha]

44. She is so not calculating and

I've been busy going around being protective of her just like I would be in real life if someone said something snarky about her.

You get your priorities straight at what matters to you the most at certain times in your life..especially when it involves loved ones.

[SuperTrouper]

13. I think that it was a no win-no win for Caroline. She tried to serve the people of

New York, a private figure inspired by Obama and not a professional politician like Andrew Cuomo. Paterson has been making this a circus with his indecisiveness and he was leaving all the candidates twisting in the wind. A few weeks ago I posted my opinion that my advice to Caroline was to tell Paterson to go and f-k himself, so I am satisfied that she has just done that. I think that we have not heard the last thing from her...would not be surprised if she comes back in 2010 to challenge the selected Senator in the primaries. Paterson will not be elected in 2010, that I am sure of...he is despised in Upstate New York and with his circus he has alienated the Kennedy clan, Mayor Bloomberg, and Obama. So now the job is easy for Paterson, name Cuomo for the Senate and have Cuomo challenge him in the primary for the Governorship...it all works like that.

[Cha]

18. I do hope we hear from

her again and it's just that this isn't the right time.

[Marrah_G]

17. I think Teddy is close to the end and she wants to be there.

[SuperTrouper]

20. Unfortunately, Teddy has about 3 months to live if you go by statistics and survival rates

for that type of tumor. :-(

[nodramamama]

19. She had been slipping in the polls

Cuomo was preferred by 40% verus 25% for Carolina in this Marist poll: http://www.maristpoll.marist.edu/nyspolls/NY090115.htm

And in the latest Quinnipiac, Cuomo led 31% to 24%: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1284.xml?ReleaseID=1246&What=&strArea=;&strTime=0

It's probable that she did not want to become senator while being the second favorite.

[Thrill]

21. Paterson is going to pick Cuomo. Scared he was going to get challenged for Governor

[SuperTrouper]

26. Cuomo will still challenge him for Governor. Cuomo does not want to be the Junior

Senator from NY under Schumer. Andrew Cuomo wants to be Governor like his father. The loser in all this is Governor Paterson, period.

[Uzybone]

28. True, Patterson misplayed a golden hand

Maybe he will get to be Lt Governor again.

Caroline would have been very good in the senate. Oh well.

[onefreespiritedchick]

46. Patterson handled this terribly

He could have announced a decision weeks ago.

[SuperTrouper]

49. Yes, but he showed his incompetence...especially after his dismal State of the State performance

[Cha]

34. This article says Paterson was going to chose Caroline..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3700606#3700634

But, there's a lot of crap flying around so maybe time will tell.

[Uzybone]

40. He should have

too late now.

[Booster]

22. I hope President Obama appoints Caroline to a post in his

administration. I think America owes her that much, and whatever post he chooses, she will be damn good at it.

[SuperTrouper]

37. If Gillenbrand or Maloney gets selected...then CKS may run for the empty spot...

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

39. "America owes her that much..." WTF?

[Booster]

51. Hold old are you?

[smalll]

59. "How old are you"??? I imagine K&H is young enough to not be a Kennedy monarchist ...

The 55-plus crowd was alive when JFK got shot and when CaroK ran so photogenically around the Oval Office desk as a toddler. Yes, Dallas was a tragedy, and yes, the desk-run was cute. But monarchism is not a required response, and it is emotionally avoidable for those of us who are NOT over 55. You know. :shrug:

[Cha]

45. I think America would benefit

that much!

[emilyg]

62. Why does America owe her anything?

[Booster]

64. My father worked for a company that had a policy that if any

of their employees were killed while on the job they would offer that employee's children a job. My father was killed in a plane crash while on the job. Do you think the Company had a good policy or that they didn't owe me anything?

[elocs]

24. So, Paterson was not being coy when he told Couric yesterday that he hadn't made a decision. nt

[IndianaJones]

27. saving a little face there. nt.

[SuperTrouper]

29. No, here is the NY Times report...

Caroline Kennedy has withdrawn from consideration for the vacant Senate seat in New York, according to a person told of her decision.


Todd Heisler/The New York Times
Caroline Kennedy in December.
On Wednesday she called the governor, David Paterson, who is making the selection of who should succeed Senator Hillary Clinton. Her concerns about Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s deteriorating health (he was hospitalized after a seizure during the inaugural lunch on Tuesday ) prompted her decision to withdraw, this person said. Coping with the health issues of her uncle, with whom she enjoys an extraordinarily close bond, was her most important priority; a situation not conducive to starting a high profile public job.

She was planning to issue a statement on Wednesday evening.

Ms. Kennedy’s decision comes nearly two months after she, along with several members of Congress and leading political officials, began auditioning to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton in the coveted position.

The decision is certain to startle the political world.Ms. Kennedy had gained the support of some powerful backers in the state, including several labor officials and a top aide to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Kevin Sheekey.

But her pursuit of the seat also set off resistance, with some local Democratic officials suggesting it smacked of entitlement, and polls showing voters preferring Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo for the position. Ms. Kennedy, 51, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy and a resident of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, has never served in public office.

Gov. David A. Paterson plans to announce on Saturday whom he has selected. The governor has been coy about his decision, and while he has praised Ms. Kennedy, he has also spoken approvingly of other candidates, including Mr. Cuomo and Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, who is beginning her second term as a congresswoman from the Albany area.

Mrs. Clinton resigned from the Senate late Wednesday, immediately after being sworn in as secretary of state.

[Cha]

31. No, you're

wrong.

[BeyondGeography]

32. Sounds to me like a deal has been cut here

She drops out to save face for her and to take the heat off of Paterson, who wanted to go with someone else. She gets something else she wants down the road for being a team player.

I think it's great news, as her "run" never quite made sense to me.

[SuperTrouper]

43. In Delusional Freeperland they say she has a home in Mass, she'll move there and Deval Patrick

will appoint her Massachusetts Junior Senator...in the near future..no controversies...

[BeyondGeography]

52. The truly delusional believe there's nothing more here than meets the eye

[Undercurrent]

47. Wow

Looking forward to the various back stories as they emerge.

[smalll]

60. The "story" here is that someone with great legacy who had great reason to avoid politics 'til now -

revealed herself to be an empty-headed, cliche-ridden, "you know" addict when the rubber hit the road. I remember when she was asked, a while ago in one of her brief interviews, to explain her candidacy, and she went off into some ridiculosity about how these days, things are less "hierarchical" (her own word) than they used to be ... oh yeah, so cool! Yeah, it's so much less hierarchical these days, like, you don't need an actual record or experience anymore (so passe!) now, you can leap the ladder by being a legacy! House of Lords, here we come!

If CaroK had some kind of vision, program, passion, charisma (or even sense of humor) when she started running for the appointment, I could be happy with her. She didn't, so I'm not.

[jzodda]

63. I'm glad-I want Cuomo anyway

Even though he may run for gov. I think he would make a good senator for my state. I was so so on Kennedy. She's never run for office before, at least Cuomo has. As a student of the Senate they have less respect for appointed Senators in general, and even less for those who are appointed and have not stood for election by the voters for any other office before. That makes it harder to get your voice heard. Now would the Kennedy name make up for that? Perhaps, but Cuomo is an experienced politician who I believe will better represent NY in these tough times.